Rumsfeld Forced Out! But President’s “Fresh Perspective” Still Stinks

By Kenneth J. Theisen, 11/8/06

On
the day after the midterm election clearly demonstrated widespread popular
opposition to the war on Iraq,
President Bush announced that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was stepping
down.  He also admitted that his Iraq
policy was “not working well enough, fast enough.”

Bush nominated former CIA director and Bush family friend,
Robert Gates, to replace Rumsfeld. 
(Worldcantwait.org will have more on just who Gates is and what his
plans are for Iraq
soon.)

The
“stepping down” of Rumsfeld is welcome.  Rumsfeld
is a war criminal.  As Defense Secretary,
he has presided over the deaths of 655,000 Iraqi people, systematic torture,
and a whole strategy of endless unjust wars aimed at cementing the rule of
empire in the Middle East.

Rumsfeld’s
ouster is a result of the very real problems the Bush regime is having in
continuing its unjust occupation of Iraq
and the infighting within the government and military over how to “win in Iraq.”  Rumsfeld was one of the chief architects of
the war and its aftermath.  He was a
lightning rod for criticism of the Bush policy in Iraq. The war has been going
against the U.S.  for some
time and this has not pleased other U.S. leaders, including the
military leadership, which increasingly has been at odds with Rumsfeld.  His ouster was called for by leading Democrats
for quite some time.  Recently several
leading Republicans also have joined in the anti-Rummy chorus.  And on Monday, the influential Military Times
newspaper group, reflecting dissatisfaction within the higher ranks of the
military with Rumsfeld, called for his ouster.  Many in the military have thought that the
Bush administration has been trying to fight the war “on the cheap.”  They have called for additional troops and
other resources and a broader crackdown on the insurgency in Iraq.  The Bush
administration clearly saw Rumsfeld as a liability and has dumped him.

But
the Bush regime that initiated the invasions of Afghanistan
and Iraq, and wants to
attack Iran,
is still in power and it has not fundamentally changed course.  It still wishes to maintain global dominance
and it intends to control the Middle East to
do so.  The so-called “war on terror”,
which is really a war for global empire, will still be waged.  Bush’s statements
after announcing Rumsfeld’s departure make this clear.  After stating that he and Rumsfeld thought
that a “fresh perspective” was needed on the Iraq war, Bush went on to say that this did not
mean the United States
would withdraw prematurely.  Bush firmly
stated, “The enemy is going to say ‘well, it must mean America is
going to leave’. And the answer is ‘no.'” Bush stated that he is
“committed to victory” in Iraq
and that U.S.
troops would not leave before their mission is completed. “We’re going to
win the fight,” he exclaimed.

Clearly
the administration is searching for a “winning strategy” in Iraq and that is what is meant by a
“fresh perspective.”  The regime knows it
is not winning despite its attempts to “spin” the news coming from Iraq.  It is unclear right now just what the regime
will do next.  Escalation and more troops
may be the “fresh perspective.”  In
hearings held by the Democrats, several “military experts” have advocated this
route.  Some leading Democrats have
openly called for expansion of the military. 
 And many Democrats, as well as
leading Republicans, have called for greater involvement of “allies” and
expansion of the “coalition of the willing.” 
In Afghanistan several
nations have supplied troops at the urging of the U.S.  But even there the resistance is growing, not
diminishing.

And
in Iraq,
most nations have been pulling out troops, not offering more.  Even in Great Britain there is not much
hope that the British will expand their role, and there is much talk of pulling
out altogether. 
According to some of its leadership, the British military is near a breaking point.  It is not clear how the Bush regime could entice other countries to join it in
the attacks on the Iraqi people.

The
Bush regime is desperate and it does not have much time to create its “winning
strategy.”  But the people of the world
have no interest in giving it any breathing room. It is good that one of the
Bush regime war criminals is gone, but we can not rest until we create a mass
movement that drives Bush and his entire regime from office.  We do not need a “fresh perspective”
on how to carry out war crimes – we need to bring these crimes to a halt.